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Back from the home of Eminem, Ted Nugent, Kid Rock and most importantly Axel Foley (remember the Mumford Phys Ed shirt?), Eddie Murphy's character in Beverly Hills Cop. Here are the twists, turns, tidbits and dingle berries from my last roadie.
-The Trip: Up until a month ago I had resigned myself to driving this one especially since the game was early on Saturday. Then for the hell of it, I searched flights out of Kansas City just to see how low they were. Up popped a non stop round tripper on Spirit Airlines for 130 bucks and change. Okay, you know Spirit, where all the add ons like bags, food, seat reservations, late check ins are extra cash? I will be blunt and honest here: the key to keeping these costs down is to not take a woman with you. All I needed was the stuff that was included in the ticket price-a toilet to pee in (although they may charge to drop a deuce but luckily I didn't have to pose that question), an oxygen mask that worked, and a good feeling that the plane would not land like a Naadir Tharpe bounce pass-errant and badly. Three hour quick drive to the airport, 20 bucks split 3 ways for long term parking, an hour and 45 minute flight and I was right there staring across the water at Windsor, Canada and Caesar's Palace in no time. I will fly Spirit again (probably alone after my wife reads this) -lot's of potential here if they manage to keep their identity without going broke.
-The City: I've heard the horror stories of Detroit. I know about the data on the shrinking population, the bankrupt city, the decaying infrastructure, the class warfare and the normal big city corruption and violence. Guess what-it's all true! But hold on (don't punch me Commish)-the positives about the City make it one of the coolest urban destinations I've experienced. I've been overseas to places where 90% of the population wants you dead and your testicles put on display at a Farmer's Market, so maybe I have a low bar but I don't think so. The vibrant waterfront, the downtown quaintness for a city of it's size, Comerica Park and Ford Field, a couple of nice casino hotels, neat areas like Greektown and The Eastern Market and the headquarters and home of some of the most innovative entrepreneurs in our country's history (hey, I know unions have tainted all of it but Ford and Edison were still incredible) make this place worth visiting if you have a chance especially in the late spring or early fall. Everybody I ran into was extremely friendly and accomodating. For an added bonus you can take your passport and head over to Windsor although it really isn't a stunner to look at. I was there at rush hour Friday night and it wasn't too bad-but wait, the freeway system was built for like five times as many people coming home from work wasn't it? See there are some positives to population loss.In all seriousness, just goes to show you when a city is featured for its low points, hold judgment out until you've at least been there and tried to find its high points. Often, except for in the case of Evansville, you will be pleasantly surprised.
-The School: Okay, Detroit is a private Catholic School located south of Eight Mile but north of Six Mile. Translation, it is not in the ritzy suburbs but still has a couple of nice neighborhoods surrounding it. The campus is small but very clean with some beautiful older architecture such as the clock tower in the middle of campus. Calihan Hall is a barn built in the early 50s that feels. smells, and acts like an old school Fieldhouse. Yes the seats are primitive, yes it needs some updating, and yes the concessions are better at most high schools, but I really like the place-kind of reminds me of some of the old Valley haunts. It is what city college basketball is about. The people there were very friendly and the parking spot I got would've cost me 4k a year at Koch. The crowd wasn't big at all-maybe half full-which is sad because of the product Detroit puts on the floor. I could make a good argument for Detroit in the Valley-I mean that sincerely. Great for recruiting, easy to get to, basketball is king and they play a fun style, and their other sports would mostly mesh too. If we add another team, except for the obvious choices, this is one that I would support.
The Game-It's been analyzed to pieces on here so I won't go into too much detail, but I saw in the second half two things, one unfamiliar and one familiar. The first was, as I alluded to yesterday, an uncertain if not rattled look about this team when the crowd got into the game once they took the lead. It lasted for 2-3 minutes. Then, our composure and talent got us back into the game along with some fantastic hustle. But what really put the knee in the proverbial crotch is something I have seen time and time again-conditioning. Detroit at the under 4 timeout was completely gassed-had no legs left. Howard especially was pooped and the idea of running multiple defenders at him finally paid dividends. Cannot say enough about the toughness of our practices and Mr. Rosenboom as it has literally won many a game for us the last five minutes. Did I say this before?-Rashard is going to be an absolute stud in the league probably by next year. He is not a post player but if he is told he must learn quickly, I would put my money on him to do so, despite his height limitations. I have a feeling we will have a true post player on campus next year ready to play one way or another. Oh and I had the pleasure of meeting Rashard's mom at the game. What a fantastic lady! If someone could re post the article about her traveling to his games over the past few years, I would appreciate it. Kudos to Detroit, they have some ballers and if they can sustain that effort on the road at all, I expect them to be in the tournament.
I am unable to go to Hawaii due to just too many work and family commitments-plus for what they want for airfare I couldve practically built my own yacht and sailed it over there myself. Someone will have to carry the torch for me. But hello Des Moines on New Year's Eve!
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-The Trip: Up until a month ago I had resigned myself to driving this one especially since the game was early on Saturday. Then for the hell of it, I searched flights out of Kansas City just to see how low they were. Up popped a non stop round tripper on Spirit Airlines for 130 bucks and change. Okay, you know Spirit, where all the add ons like bags, food, seat reservations, late check ins are extra cash? I will be blunt and honest here: the key to keeping these costs down is to not take a woman with you. All I needed was the stuff that was included in the ticket price-a toilet to pee in (although they may charge to drop a deuce but luckily I didn't have to pose that question), an oxygen mask that worked, and a good feeling that the plane would not land like a Naadir Tharpe bounce pass-errant and badly. Three hour quick drive to the airport, 20 bucks split 3 ways for long term parking, an hour and 45 minute flight and I was right there staring across the water at Windsor, Canada and Caesar's Palace in no time. I will fly Spirit again (probably alone after my wife reads this) -lot's of potential here if they manage to keep their identity without going broke.
-The City: I've heard the horror stories of Detroit. I know about the data on the shrinking population, the bankrupt city, the decaying infrastructure, the class warfare and the normal big city corruption and violence. Guess what-it's all true! But hold on (don't punch me Commish)-the positives about the City make it one of the coolest urban destinations I've experienced. I've been overseas to places where 90% of the population wants you dead and your testicles put on display at a Farmer's Market, so maybe I have a low bar but I don't think so. The vibrant waterfront, the downtown quaintness for a city of it's size, Comerica Park and Ford Field, a couple of nice casino hotels, neat areas like Greektown and The Eastern Market and the headquarters and home of some of the most innovative entrepreneurs in our country's history (hey, I know unions have tainted all of it but Ford and Edison were still incredible) make this place worth visiting if you have a chance especially in the late spring or early fall. Everybody I ran into was extremely friendly and accomodating. For an added bonus you can take your passport and head over to Windsor although it really isn't a stunner to look at. I was there at rush hour Friday night and it wasn't too bad-but wait, the freeway system was built for like five times as many people coming home from work wasn't it? See there are some positives to population loss.In all seriousness, just goes to show you when a city is featured for its low points, hold judgment out until you've at least been there and tried to find its high points. Often, except for in the case of Evansville, you will be pleasantly surprised.
-The School: Okay, Detroit is a private Catholic School located south of Eight Mile but north of Six Mile. Translation, it is not in the ritzy suburbs but still has a couple of nice neighborhoods surrounding it. The campus is small but very clean with some beautiful older architecture such as the clock tower in the middle of campus. Calihan Hall is a barn built in the early 50s that feels. smells, and acts like an old school Fieldhouse. Yes the seats are primitive, yes it needs some updating, and yes the concessions are better at most high schools, but I really like the place-kind of reminds me of some of the old Valley haunts. It is what city college basketball is about. The people there were very friendly and the parking spot I got would've cost me 4k a year at Koch. The crowd wasn't big at all-maybe half full-which is sad because of the product Detroit puts on the floor. I could make a good argument for Detroit in the Valley-I mean that sincerely. Great for recruiting, easy to get to, basketball is king and they play a fun style, and their other sports would mostly mesh too. If we add another team, except for the obvious choices, this is one that I would support.
The Game-It's been analyzed to pieces on here so I won't go into too much detail, but I saw in the second half two things, one unfamiliar and one familiar. The first was, as I alluded to yesterday, an uncertain if not rattled look about this team when the crowd got into the game once they took the lead. It lasted for 2-3 minutes. Then, our composure and talent got us back into the game along with some fantastic hustle. But what really put the knee in the proverbial crotch is something I have seen time and time again-conditioning. Detroit at the under 4 timeout was completely gassed-had no legs left. Howard especially was pooped and the idea of running multiple defenders at him finally paid dividends. Cannot say enough about the toughness of our practices and Mr. Rosenboom as it has literally won many a game for us the last five minutes. Did I say this before?-Rashard is going to be an absolute stud in the league probably by next year. He is not a post player but if he is told he must learn quickly, I would put my money on him to do so, despite his height limitations. I have a feeling we will have a true post player on campus next year ready to play one way or another. Oh and I had the pleasure of meeting Rashard's mom at the game. What a fantastic lady! If someone could re post the article about her traveling to his games over the past few years, I would appreciate it. Kudos to Detroit, they have some ballers and if they can sustain that effort on the road at all, I expect them to be in the tournament.
I am unable to go to Hawaii due to just too many work and family commitments-plus for what they want for airfare I couldve practically built my own yacht and sailed it over there myself. Someone will have to carry the torch for me. But hello Des Moines on New Year's Eve!
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